New Mississippi voters hoping to cast a ballot in the Aug. 6 primary election have until Monday to complete and return their voter registration applications.
Mississippians who are already registered to vote, but have recently moved or changed their name, must update their registration information in order to cast a ballot in the correct precinct on primary election day.
Mississippi’s registration deadline is Monday, July 8. The Winston County Circuit Clerk’s Office will be open from 8 a.m.-noon Saturday and until 5 p.m. Monday for voter registration for individuals that have never registered in Winston County or who need to update their addresses. Applications sent by mail must have a postmark date of no later than July 8.
Additionally, absentee voting is underway in all counties. Voters may cast an absentee ballot in Mississippi if they are away from their county of residence on primary election day, temporarily or permanently disabled, over 65 and for a number of other reasons.
Circuit Clerk Kim Ming reminds temporary/permanently disabled absentee voters that may have their mailed applications and ballots witnessed by someone over 18 years of age that a candidate cannot witness their ballot for them.
Ming also wants to remind voters when entering the voting precinct on August 6, please remember to have driver’s license or state issued ID. The poll worker will find each voter’s name name, each voter will sign the register and will then be handed a paper ballot.
At the August 6 primary election, voters must choose between a Democrat or Republican ballot to pcik who will be on the November general election ballot.
Tables with privacy panels will be available to sit or stand at to mark your ballot. When finished marking the ballot, the voter will simply walk to the “precinct scanner” and place the ballot in the scanner. The scanner pulls the ballot in and reads it immediately. If a race has been skipped or more than one oval on the ballot has been marked, the machine will show a message on the screen. The voter is given a chance to correct the ballot or cast ballot. The poll manager will be available if the voter needs assistance.
“Please remember, every election is determined by the people who show up to vote!,” said Ming.
A downloadable registration application, which should be mailed or delivered to the circuit clerk in the county in which the voter resides, is accessible on Y’all Vote, www.yallvote.sos.ms.gov, the secretary of state’s online voter information center.
An individual is eligible to register to vote in the August primaries if he or she is at least 18 or will be 18 by Nov. 5 (the date of the general election); is a Mississippi resident; has not been convicted in a Mississippi court of a disenfranchising crime; and has not been adjudicated as mentally incompetent. Mississippi currently has more than 1.8 million active registered voters.
Citizens who have already registered to vote in Mississippi but moved since the last election or changed their name can update their information online at Y’all Vote if they are unable to come to the circuit clerk’s office. More than 2,000 voters in Mississippi have used the system since it was launched.
A voter updating their registration information on Y’all Vote must provide his or her county, name, date of birth and the last four digits of his or her Social Security Number to locate previously existing information in the Statewide Elections Management System. The voter must also be located in the Mississippi Department of Public Safety database by providing his or her name, address, date of birth and driver’s license or identification number exactly as the information appears on the Mississippi-issued license or ID. After the voter’s address or name is updated, the new information is electronically transmitted to the circuit clerk of the voter’s county of residence.
For more information about registering to vote for the first time in Mississippi or changing an address or name as a previously existing active registered Mississippi voter, call the Winston County Circuit Clerk’s Office.
